Friday, December 20, 8 p.m.
Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington Street, Iowa City IA
Originally founded in Iowa City and performing their signature fusion of funk and Afro-Caribbean music, the musical talents of Eufórquestra bring their annual seasonal concert Home for the Holiday's to Iowa City's Englert Theatre on December 20, with GratefulWeb.com enthusing, “The boys seem to play like the apocalypse will happen at any second and they want to die doing what they do best.”
Known for progressive, genre-crossing funk fusions and currently based in Ford Collins, Colorado, Eufórquestra (pronounced “yoo-FOHR-keh-struh”) has enjoyed more than a decade renowned for its self-proclaimed “Afro-Caribbean-Barnyard-Funk” – a unique, rhythmic blend of sound integrating such genres as Afrobeat, Reggae, Afro-Cuban, Samba, Soca, Funk, Salsa, and Dub. All About Music described the musicians' sound as one that “explodes, dances, and melts in your ear with sheer bliss,” and with five studio albums under their belts and a continually relentless tour schedule of more than 100 shows per year, Eufórquestra has emerged as a significant presence on the national scene. Known for their performances at clubs, concert halls, community events, and festivals such as Wakarusa, Summer Camp, 80/35, and the Iowa City Jazz Festival, Eufórquestra also hosts its own festival, Camp Euforia, every year in July, just outside Iowa City in Lone Tree, Iowa.
Composed of Matt Bricker on trumpet, Otis Lande on bass, Jeff Peterson on drums, Mike Tallman on guitar, Matt Wright on keyboards, and Austin Zaletel on saxophone, the band also frequently draws from a collective of rotating musicians and vocalists including Kim Dawson, Robert Espe, Jon Gray, Matt Grundstad, Jeff Porter, Danny Sears, and Jon Stewart. Meanwhile, Eufórquestra’s most recent full-length record FIRE was produced by Kyle Hollingsworth of The String Cheese Incident, and boasts the contributions of a handful of special guests including Elliot Martin of John Brown’s Body, Gabriel Mervine, and Hollingsworth himself. The results led to Chicago Jam Scene's Jeremy Frazier calling the release “tight and engineered to a fine, funky precision.”
Eufórquestra presents its 2019 Home for the Holidays concert at the Englert Theatre alongside the guest musicians of Flash in a Pan, admission to the 8 p.m. December 20 concert is $20-24, and more information and tickets are available by calling (319)688-2653 or visiting Englert.org.
